Keywords: translation, simile, nature, fiction, White Fang, Jack London, Azerbaijani, English
Summary
The topic of translating similes related to nature in Jack London's White Fang into Azerbaijani is of great importance both from an artistic-aesthetic and linguistic point of view. In this work, nature not only plays the role of a background, but also acts as one of the main tools in shaping the character of the characters, developing events and conveying the author's ideas. London effectively presents the harshness, beauty and dynamism of the wild environment to the reader by using rich similes in his descriptions of nature. The main problem when translating similes related to nature is the existence of semantic, stylistic and cultural differences between the source language (English) and the target language (Azerbaijani). Some similes used in English may not create the same emotional and figurative effect in Azerbaijani when directly translated. Therefore, the translator must either use equivalent expressions or transform the metaphor appropriately based on the principle of functional compatibility. The analysis conducted within the framework of the topic shows that the main strategies used in the translation of nature-related similes are word-for-word translation, adaptation, modulation and equivalence. For example, a metaphor such as "as cold as ice" successfully finds its equivalent in the Azerbaijani language in the form of "буз кими сайд" and semantic compatibility is preserved. However, in some cases, since the cultural context of the original metaphor is different, the translator must choose a more appropriate and acceptable expression. For instance unclear nature-related similes for Azerbaijani readers may be replaced with more familiar phenomena. In these cases, the main goal is not direct translation of notion, but the goal is to convey emotional and aesthetic effect of original notion to target audience from source language.
